Ledan
This roleplay character belongs to Grace King (tumblr) and can be found here. Ledan (currently going by the alias of''' Ledan “Leda" John Hale') is an '''archangel/human hybrid', sometimes known as an "Archnephilim" (a phrase coined by Dean) and a witch, known or at least believed to be one of the only ones of his kind, maybe even the only one. He uses his witchcraft to perform spells on demand, occasionally for money (n the case of richer clients) but usually he’ll do it for a nondescript favour (which you’ll be bound to) that can be called in at any time. He was born in 339BC, in early Iron Age Sweden, and grew up believing, in his early years, he was an average human. However, he is the son of the archangel Jophiel (who died when he was two) and a powerful witch called Thyrvï; making him very much not. He believed this because his powers took time to manifest, and even when they did, in the beginning they were relatively harmless. It was only as an adult he started to come into his more potent powers, only gaining the ability to heal himself at the age of around 32, which also caused him to stop ageing. He married a woman called Ásta, with whom he had several children; Cenríkr, Ælfríkr, Sigríðr,'' Mæja and Rúni, only two of whom reached the at which they also stopped ageing, and had several children of their own, Leda's grandchildren. As a type being not created by god he is considered by most angels to be an ''abomination, as a type of being not created by god is considered a blasphemy, and thus are hunted. Due to his mix of Archangel and Human he is probably at least on his way to near omnipotent (at least as near to it as an Archangel is), but is still (even after 2,353 years) in the stage of developing his powers. However, due to the hex that was recently placed on him, he's currently able to use a limited 'amount of power at a time; causing him to become weak after prolonged use of the powers he has through his father's (his archangel) side. This has seemingly not affected his spells, however, and so he's still been able to continue his day-to-day business. Ledan has five cats, whom he adores. While he's a been a vegetarian for several decades, though he obviously was not ''always, he is both good at and enjoys cooking. It's suggested his skill in cooking could be partly due to it requiring similar skills to magic, which he also very clearly enjoys or at least takes pride in. He appears to be quite sentimental, as he keeps things he likes or treasures from time to time; meaning that at this point he has what could be described as a mini-museum of ancient/antique, but mostly otherwise valueless, items in his attic and basement of his home in Fleetwood, Vermont. Most notably, he has kept various vintage cars and motorbikes, which he enjoys keeping in as perfect order as possible. Leda has his father's archangel blade, which was given to him when he was seven, as both an heirloom of sorts and a way to defend himself from angels. He rarely entrusts it to anyone, as he'll only let someone who he trusts completely anywhere near the thing, it being the only thing which can easily kill him. Biography Early Life arms|230px]]'''Ledan was born to Thyrvï and Jophiel (an archangel) on the 28th October in (worked out by its closeness to the festival of Vetrnætr Blake, M. (2011). About Vetrnætr. (Last accessed 14th Nov 2014), a festival of three days that celebrated the end of summer, the start of winter and the beginning of a new year) in 339BC, a date which he must have worked out when the Gregorian calendar caught on. Though, as a result of his archangel father, he was an "archnephilim", he was raised as if he were a normal child, with his true nature kept from him. This was made particularly possible by the fact that, unfortunately, his father was killed before his third birthday, and he never got to know the man. To Ledan growing up, Jophiel was just the absent father who had died when he was very young. Leda's powers didn't start to show for a long while either, in his early years he appeared just like any other child. He was taught like any other child how to fight with swords, bows, knives, the like and, from a very young age, he begun to help his mother with her work, despite the fact that magic was considered a feminine practice by the society of then Ward, C. (Unknown). Women and Magic in the Sagas: Seiðr and Spá. (Last accessed 14th Nov 2014) McCoy, D. (2012). Seiðr. (Last accessed 14th Nov 2014) Mitchell, S A (2010). Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages. (1st ed. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 384 pages). At the time, his mother used her magic to act as the village's healer, though her magic could obviously go far ''beyond this, all the while Leda was taught the reins of his mother's craft. Leda showed extreme promise in the magic department, possibly due to the nephilim thing, steadily learning all he needed to act as a somewhat of an assistant by the age of seven. His involvement in his mothers "business" made him somewhat of an outcast, as the kids his age all either helped their parents with farming or hunting or other such similar and more mundane occupations. That, and his mother was considered to be somewhat crazy by the village as a whole, who were sceptical about her knack from healing coming from actual ''seiðr ''as most believed all it was old wives tales and superstition taken to extremes. Ledan also had earned the social stigma attached to boys and men learning magic. Manifesting His Powers Ledan first began to come into his powers at around age seven, where he found himself able to move small objects with his mind as well as move or affect larger ones when he was angry or scared (usually breaking/destroying them). He kept this a secret from Thyrvï for as long as he could, as he believed she, even as a witch, would think he was some kind of monster. However, when Thyrvï found out about his powers, after an argument they had, during which his powers made themselves known, she explained to him that his father had not been human; though she didn't tell him exactly what or who he was until later. Leda couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed with his mother for keeping this from him and letting him think that he was alone or that she was going to hate him when she found out about his powers or something, when actually she knew all along this was going to happen to him. He thus saw it as a somewhat of a betrayal on Thyrvï's part. However, as his mother continued to help him hide his powers from the rest of the residents of the village, he convinced himself that she had only been trying to help him in some way and got over these feelings, valuing his close relationship with Thyrvï even then. He continued to steadily develop his powers over the years with his mother's help, taking advantage of the fact he and Thyrvï lived relatively far outside of the main village, due to her profession to hide them from the other villagers. He slowly learnt how to control his powers so they didn't flare up when he was in a bad mood or emotional from practice. However, further rumours about him spread, and the fact he had come to live in such solitude had made his social standing that much worse. He was considered strange by most of his same-age peers, most of whom avoided him like the plague because of it. His only actual friends as a child were Ásta, her brother Abjǫrn, whose mother had been healed from a fever by Leda's mother, and another boy called Folke whose mother was friends with Thyrvï. The four often played in the forests near and around the village together. He accidentally used his powers during a play fight in the forest at one point, which led to him having to ask his friends to keep his secret. Adulthood Price, N (Prof.). (2012). ''Life and Afterlife: Dealing with the Dead in the Viking Age. (Last accessed 14th Nov 2014) (Not exactly relevant, but very interesting presentation, and I used some ideas from this) Price, N (Prof.). (2012). The Shape of the Soul: The Viking Mind and the Individual. (Last accessed 14th Nov 2014) (Not exactly relevant, but very interesting presentation, and I used some ideas from this) By the age of around 15, Ledan was considered and treated as a full adult, having been treated as a small adult all of his 'childhood' anyway.Short, W R. (1999). Families and Demographics in the Viking Age. (Last accessed 28th Dec 2014) (excerpt: The age of majority is not clearly defined, but by the time a boy was 16 years old, he was expected to take on all the roles of an adult male in Viking society. Even younger children took on some adult responsibilities. In order to qualify to be a judge in court, a man need be only 12 years old. Although children were excused from attacks and battles and permitted to leave before a fight began, some young children initiated lethal revenge attacks.) He later fell in love with and married his childhood friend Ásta, with whom he travelled to a few villages over to start his own version of his mother's business, where someone was needed to heal the sick. The two had their first son, Cenríkr, when he was 18 and she was around 19 or 20 their second, Ælfríkr, two years later as well as several other children; Sigríðr, Mæja and Rúni over the years. In their new village Leda managed to gain the respect he lacked in their home village, despite the stigma that was still very much attached to the practice of magic for men, possibly due to his relatively personable nature, as well as the fact it was clear the magic he practised was not simply 'old wives tales' and superstition as many people and witnessed it working for themselves. Leda continued to develop his powers from his father's side throughout his adulthood, manifesting powers allowing him to emit light and generate fire among other things and steadily improve on the powers he'd developed as a child. He also begun to develop a resistance to diseases and his wounds would often heal a lot quicker. However it wasn't until his early to mid thirties that his wounds begun to heal instantly and his ageing slowed and, eventually, stopped completely. Though this seemed cool to Leda for about five minutes it soon sank in that this likely meant that he'd vastly outlive most of the people he loved, including his own children. Leda of course worked at the magic he was taught by his mother, getting better and better at it with the hopes of being able to help to heal more people from many different afflictions. Though by no means could he save every person who came to him or was brought to him. He'd often take in sick animals; such as dogs, cats, squirrels and such in order to bring up his experience with certain methods with various levels success. Shortly after the birth of their youngest son, Rúni, during a particularly hash winter; the village they were living in was raided out of desperation by people from a settlement further north, whose crops had failed and who had been running out of food. Ásta was stabbed in the chest while trying to stop them from taking their food, as she was scared that they wouldn't find any more and children would starve. Though she managed to fend them off, and they had later come to their own grizzly ends, Ásta's wound (though seeming initially not to be fatal) was later discovered to have gotten badly infected, and though Leda did his best to try to heal it, he failed and Ásta died. Losing His Family Though Leda was devastated by the loss, he endeavoured to stay strong for his children, as they were obviously greatly affected by it too. He had trouble for a long time with not blaming himself for not noticing the infection when it wasn't too late to begin with, and also failing to heal her when it eventually did become obvious and therefore already untreatable. Leda managed to keep the family afloat with the resources he was able to get continuing with his healing, this and in the months after Ásta's death, his fellow villagers helped him when they could, as he'd always helped them in the past when they'd needed it. Two years later, when the family was just getting more-or-less fully on its feet, and though he still missed Ásta greatly, Leda was almost his old self. He attended the community gatherings again and trying to get out of his rut and more into a happier life with his friends and family. Cenríkr, his eldest son, was almost old enough to leave home at this point. Cenríkr was looking forward to it, he'd be able to make his own way in life, and he'd already fallen in love with a young woman called Ingríðr. While Leda was happy about this he couldn't help having a natural worry for his son. It was around this time that a sickness travelled though the village. It happened from time to time; and back then, with the limited knowledge of how sickness works, they had no real recourse to stop them spreading. While usually, due to the fact he lived further away than most from the main town, and he was the healer, his family had come out of the previous ones okay. However, this time they were not so lucky. While he attempted to do his job, heal his fellow villagers, his elder daughter fell ill with the sickness, as did his infant son soon after. Though Leda tried his best to save their lives, it proved too difficult in the end. He'd had half the town in to care for and, while he couldn't help but prioritise his own children, there was little he could do for anyone other than try to give them a fighting chance with the basic medicine he had and pray that they made it. However, this not being very good medical practice, it didn't do much good at all. While some of the younger villagers made it through the fever, most did not. This included Ledan's two children, Sigríðr and Rúni, who both passed away from the fever at different points in their second night after first showing symptoms. This of course devastated Leda, though this time he resolved to stay stronger this time for his children. He went ahead with helping his eldest son to marry and leave home, and trying to help his younger daughter, Mæja, with her own slightly unconventional pursuits. He tried to appear okay, and it appeared he held up well outwardly. However, underneath it all, he was struggling. He pushed on, nonetheless, managing to get enough money from healing minor ailments and injuries to help his eldest son start his life with Ingríðr in a nearby home. Ledan went on in his usual routine for several more years, as his younger son Ælfríkr became more and more "adventurous". While this was completely normal for children his and even Mæja's age, since they were technically almost adults in their society'','' the general rule was not to stray too far from the village and to stick together. This was so that if something were to happen an adult would be close and could come to their assistance, and so as not to encroach on wolves' territories. Unfortunately, Ælfríkr, did not listen and slipped away beyond the nearby river, and ended up being attacked. He survived long enough for someone to hear and find him before bringing him back to town. Travelling Scandinavia Leaving Scandinavia 19th Century 20th Century Pre-series ''Supernatural'' Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 Season 9 Season 10 Name Ledan '(pronounced ''Lee-dun li:dɑn) , originally written Leðan, comes form words from Leda's own language, Ancient Nordic ('Heimámál') meaning 'to guide/go' or 'beacon', as it was common to name children after some form of strength or power. The word in question very probably helped form the word 'lead' over time in English. An awkward bi-product of this is that his name happens to mean boredom ''in modern Swedish, the current language of his homeland. This and the Greek myth of Leda, which is actually pronounced differently than his nickname. Both, however, have nothing to do with his name. Trivia *Leda speaks with a very slight accent. **when alone at home it's more pronounced, but still faint. *His favourite colour is purple. *He is ''terrible at dancing, which is the subject of many jokes among his friends. Ledan doesn't seem to take offence to this and often chimes in with his own jokes. *Leda is a vegetarian, which is a fact he surprisingly doesn't see any irony in. *Leda is an amazing cook, this is as a result of years and years of practising magic, which (his kind at least) uses mostly the same skills as cooking. *Leda gets into many of the holidays brought over from pagan traditions. He's particularly fond of Halloween and Christmas and will decorate his house. *Ledan can speak a fair few languages, however these were all picked up by either places he's been (i.e Ancient Rome) or the dominant language of the time. **For this reason, he's currently trying to learn Mandarin (but is so far shit at it). *He has 5 cats; Leífr (sometimes 'Lítð Lynx', male), Freja (female), Hildr (female), Leífi (male), Mæja (female). *Leda speaks in his first language (Ancient Nordic) when not around his clients as this is how he talks to his cats and he uses it to label all of his ingredients. *Leda likes Norse mythology/things with Norse mythology in them; he finds it nostalgic. *Leda is fond of and had has many vintage cars and motorbikes, he's particularly fond of 50s British motorbikes; he has: **A BSA Golden Flash **A Norton Commando Frostback **A 1950 Ariel Red Hunter **A 1957 Triumph Thunderbird **A 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, convertible (blue) **A 1959 Chevrolet Impala, convertible (red) *Leda is quite sentimental, he keeps things he likes from time to time meaning that he has what could be described as a mini-museum of ancient/antique but mostly otherwise valueless items in his attic. *Leda is the oldest character on-show with a full, stated, exact age (it has been mentioned that he celebrated his 2,353rd birthday on the 28th of October last year). However there are many far older beings around. References *'''NOTE 1: Since I could find research for the magi (among other things) of a lot later in Scandinavian history, I have based my research on that, assuming that attitudes were similar, though the only research I could find suggests that attitudes were probably slightly less melodramatic. I have based related aspects of the biography on this. 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